WHY I RATE:
Kida Kudz

When He Started: “I started trying to make music around 2009/2010 and I haven’t stopped.”

Genre: Hip-hop/Afrobeats

File Next To: J Hus, Lotto Boyzz, Mr. Eazi

Sounds Like: “I would describe it as ‘Too Jiggy’. I make the jiggiest sound right now.”

First Music That Inspired Him: “I would say ‘Sky Is The Limit’ by Lil Wayne. I can’t really explain, but it puts me in this mad zone! The name of the song and just the way Lil Wayne goes bar for bar just made me want to become a rapper.”

Although Kida Kudz’s “Jiggy Bop” seemed to burst out of nowhere, the young rapper has been laying the foundations for his takeover for a few years now. Born to Nigerian parents but raised between Essex and London, he first started making music when he was 14 with a cover of Lil Wayne’s “A Milli”, releasing his first single (“Motilo” with Yemi Rush) in 2013. In the years since then, Kida has been steadily building a career with his upbeat, groove-filled Afro-rap. 2018’s “Issa Vibe” was a big moment for him, but it was this year’s “Jiggy Bop” that cemented his ascent to the top. Even before that though, he was already starting to enjoy considerable success in Nigeria and West Africa. “People were running after our car and tried to stick their hand inside of the car through our sunroof and ended up breaking it,” he tells TRENCH, “and that was about two years ago.”

Growing up, he took most of his musical cues from his sisters. “From my memory, the songs that I was listening to were probably the local songs that I used to listen to outside of my window, which was more like Fuji music,” he explains. Combining those influences with the UK rap that coursed through the streets of London, Kida Kudz would spend several years perfecting the formula of what he calls his “jiggy” sound. “I can’t lie,” he says, “finding my sound and myself has been my biggest achievement ever because a lot of artists are out here without a clue of what they’re doing. One day someone wants to be a rapper and the next they want to be a singer. I can’t even blame them because I was the same. But until you dig deep and truly find yourself, nothing makes sense.”

That time taken to hone his craft and find his own voice is already paying off in big ways. “Issa Vibe” and “Jiggy Bop” have already seen lightning strike twice and follow-up singles “Lingo” (with Jevon and Diggy) and “Moonwalk” only bolstered his position. And to top it all off, he’s already had the seal of approval from the Godfather himself, Wiley, on new single “Bounce”. As for his future ambitions, it’s all about pushing Afrobeats as far and wide as he can. “Burna Boy is already starting to do it,” says Kudz. “Places like Coachella... I want Africa to be known properly, not to just be opening up. Proper stages!”